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Democracy and Power 101: Government is Power
The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. —James Madison, Speech in the Virginia State Convention of 1829-1830

Washington has a long-standing fascination with the nation's energy markets that generates an endless stream of legislation and regulation in pursuit of a wide range of policy objectives, from energy independence to climate change. For almost a decade, the government has been struggling to implement renewable fuel standards with the aim of increasing the role of ethanol and other biofuels. New mandates have been established, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that the law has created more questions than solutions. Problems first began to emerge when the economy collapsed, and with it, demand for fuel. What seemed like easily attainable targets in a rosy economy were now out of reach. Recently, the Congressional Budget Office released a study highlighting the ongoing problems with the renewable fuel standard program, raising serious concerns about the viability of the program.

The American government loves electric cars. President Obama dreams of having a million of them on our roads, and our government is actively promoting them. While picking winners and losers, the government has used taxpayer money to back quite a few losers over the years.

Lawmakers and lobbyists in Iowa are pushing for an additional 10 cent per gallon gasoline tax, on top of the 21 cent gas tax already in place. Raising the gas tax, especially in this stalled economy, would hurt Iowa families by forcing them to pay even more at the gas pump. This proposed tax would be particularly cruel since the average gas price in Iowa is a whopping $3.70 per gallon.

To friends of freedom, it seems obvious that the government should not be choosing favorites. On the contrary, the role of government should be limited to ensuring that the playing field is level, and industries are not subjected to different rules based on government’s understanding and support of what they do. Take, for example, the way in which an oil company is treated when birds are killed on their watch and when the same happens, to a much greater degree, due to wind turbines.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan group of senators asked President Obama to consider issuing a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. These nine Democrat senators and nine Republicans asked Obama to approve the pipeline to help create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Whether or not the U.S. should seek the long-term goal of becoming "energy independent" is an open question. But what's germane to our current political situation is whether or not we can. And right now, the answer is: We can't. At World Politics Review, Peter Kiernan explains. You should read the whole thing, but here are a couple of sharp passages.